


well that escalated quickly

by ang3lba3, Mellomailbox



Series: Baby Dragons and other founders of Republic City [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Sokka, Established Relationship, Fire Lord Zuko, Idiots in Love, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Finale, Racism, Zuko the Dragon Dad, and non permanent!!, everyone but zuko and sokka are fairly minor roles tbh, non explicit eye trauma, zuko is a GREAT boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23943481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ang3lba3/pseuds/ang3lba3, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellomailbox/pseuds/Mellomailbox
Summary: In which: the new petty villain gets what he deserves, and what he deserves is juvenile just desserts.She presses something into Sokka’s lap under the table, which is a very scary couple of moments where her hand isway too close to places,and then it’s gone and left behind is… he feels at the object, glances down as carefully as he can. A wide straw. He darts a glance at her.“A—”“Old family recipe,” she says and leans back in her chair. “Keeps me sharp.”He knows that he shouldn’t. He’s almost 24, way too old to be playingTy Leelevel pranks. He really shouldn’t, and hedefinitelyis crinkling together a bit of napkin and water already. There’s a thrill as he runs his finger along the tube, estimating how best to aim with it, the old, familiar buzz of the plot thrumming through him.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Baby Dragons and other founders of Republic City [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721398
Comments: 20
Kudos: 322





	well that escalated quickly

**Author's Note:**

> we wrote a bunch of one shots... all in one document... all in a few hours. I hope you like them!! the central theme is URSA: DRAGON BABY OF THE YEAR.
> 
> Edit 5/17/2020: now with fanart from ang3lba3

Gods, sometimes the war being over sucks more than when they were sleeping in ditches and eating grubs over a fire. Sure, he gets to wear clean clothes and doesn’t get attacked by honor-crazed firebenders unless they’re both naked these days, but he also has to do things like sit in on fancy dinners and talk bullshit with people who don’t like that he’s Water Tribe, don’t care that he’s the plan guy (you know, the plan that stopped a 100 year war that nobody else could stop? That plan?), and don’t respect that he’s an ambassador.

So, yeah, maybe they used to sleep in dirt and eat literal detritus, but at least then they were _eating_ and _sleeping,_ Sokka’s two favorite past times. What’s a guy gotta do to be allowed to spend his time the way that he wants, win a war or something?

“Appetizer?” the server leaning over Sokka’s shoulder murmurs politely.

Sokka looks at Advisor Himura who, if Sokka takes something to eat, will loudly comment on the noise of his chewing and swallowing. Advisor Himura is seated fifteen feet away and does not like Sokka. Zuko’s attempt to help the situation had been charmingly disgusting, if completely ineffective in the long run. He’d done his best impression of Appa working on his cud, and Sokka had eaten tiny bites hidden behind his hand, and Advisor Himura had demanded a recess from conversation because he couldn’t hear over the— _pointed glare at the Water Tribe ambassador—_ NOISE.

“No thanks,” Sokka answers sullenly. “I’m… not hungry.”

Advisor Himura snorts disbelievingly.

“ADVISOR HIMURA,” Zuko bellows, and the entire table jumps half a foot. Then in an entirely normal volume, “What are your thoughts on the current fabric taxation policies?”

Zuko’s too far away for Sokka to do anything like kick his ankle in gratitude, which is by design. Something like that could be easily seen and misconstrued. Zuko’s absent-minded habit of groping at Sokka’s knee could _also_ be easily seen and construed.

“Wow!” Ty Lee gushes, leaning in far too close. “Are you sick? You LOVE food!” Sokka grimaces and leans out of the blast range.

“Sick and tired,” Sokka grits out behind a strained smile. _Of this sealshit._

“Oh, I used to get that one all the time,” Ty Lee says, and her grin turns sly. “I have just the cure.”

She presses something into Sokka’s lap under the table, which is a very scary couple of moments where her hand is _way too close to places,_ and then it’s gone and left behind is… he feels at the object, glances down as carefully as he can. A wide straw. He darts a glance at her.

“A—”

“Old family recipe,” she says and leans back in her chair. “Keeps me sharp.”

He knows that he shouldn’t. He’s almost 24, way too old to be playing _Ty Lee_ level pranks. He really shouldn’t, and he _definitely_ is crinkling together a bit of napkin and water already. There’s a thrill as he runs his finger along the tube, estimating how best to aim with it, the old, familiar buzz of the plot thrumming through him.

This is just— tactical exercises. Figuring it out, theoretically. Keeping his stratagems _sharp._ He is _not_ a kid. He _isn’t._

Toph’s gonna be sick with jealousy over this one.

Advisor Himura leans over his split pea and cabbage soup, moaning blissfully, eyes closed as he slurps.

...oh, fuck it. He’s only 23. He can be an adult when he’s 24.

Zuko starts talking again and everyone at the table turns their heads in unison to pay him the proper respect of eye contact and empty mouths. _That’s_ always hilarious to watch, mostly because Zuko doesn’t realize that he waits to start any of his inane observations until literally _everyone_ has taken a huge mouthful of food. The resulting choking, spluttering, and desperate water drinking to get the barely chewed morsels down so as not to offend the Fire Lord is like a symphony of slapstick.

The Fire Lord himself is speaking between sips of wine, completely oblivious.

He’s never gonna get a better chance. He lines up the shot— Zuko’s eyes go wide and then narrow, his voice getting louder as he keeps everyone’s attention (god he loves this man)— and—

_Pwifp._

Advisor Himura slaps himself on the cheek, and the entire table turns to him in disgusted horror.

“I,” he says, face draining of blood. “I apologize, Fire Lord Zuko, a fly—”

“Disrespectful,” Ty Lee tuts next to him, openly grinning.

Zuko lets the silence hang in the hall, Advisor Himura growing redder and sweatier by the second. Finally, he says, “I’m certain you would never interrupt me on purpose, Advisor Himura.”

“I can remove him for you, My Lord,” Ty Lee offers sweetly. Somehow, the hush gets more pronounced. Everyone here knows of Ty Lee’s _reputation._ Sokka has no fantasy that this is Ty Lee’s way of being supportive; she saw an opportunity to have some fun at someone else’s expense and she took it. Tomorrow it could very well be Sokka himself at the other end of the proverbial spitball cannon.

Sokka might care about not being able to eat without being humiliated, but Zuko’s way more serious about it. He hadn’t said so out loud but— Sokka thinks it maybe brings up bad memories, to see him berated at the formal table. It’s a whole _honor_ thing, and he cares about Sokka’s honor more than Sokka ever could.

Zuko doesn’t answer. Best secret lover _ever._

Sokka can hear people from the courtyard, three hundred yards away. The silence is profound, and the shaking of Himura’s hands against the table cloth is the only noise.

Zuko. _Doesn’t._ Answer.

Zuko opens his mouth, and Advisor Himura drops face first into his split pea and cabbage soup in a dead faint. No one moves to help him for a long moment, and then Zuko snaps, “He’s drowning!” and _still no one moves,_ and Zuko yells, “STOP HIM FROM DOING THAT!” and the hall springs alive with movement. Enough movement that Sokka can hide his laughter behind his hand, and no one but Ty Lee notices the shaking of his shoulders.

They give each other a high five under the table and take the opportunity provided to them to horf as much meat and carbs as they can.

***

That could have been the last time. It _should_ have been the last time.

Sokka’s a weak man.

He starts doing it whenever he can get away with it, to whoever he can. This extends to, eventually, Zuko in his private rooms. He was just trying to get his attention, the first time, but it had _delighted_ Ursa, and Zuko will put up with anything for her to do her...weird little dragon chortle. It sounds like a toddler choking to death, but Zuko swears it means she’s happy.

After the initial Himura situation Zuko has to start reprimanding him when he tries it in public, unable to tolerate something that could get him in real, tangible hot water with the members of his cabinet. Of course, he doesn’t reprimand him _in_ public, because Sokka is never caught. Which Sokka feels should make the whole conversation a moot point.

For Ursa, he’ll take the egg (or soggy paper) to the face with little protest. And relationships are about compromise, so Sokka pelts him every single time they’re alone with the dragon, and barely _ever_ pelts Fire Nation nobles or visiting officials. Absolutely no problems arise from this.

No, the problem is when Sokka’s taking a leisurely stroll in the gardens, picking at his teeth with a stick and planning what he’s gonna say to Zuko to get him to let Sokka massage his back for him. Zuko always says no, because he’s self sacrificing and also literally melts under Sokka’s hands and then will say yes to whatever Sokka wants, like mandating formal foodfights and agreeing to change Sokka’s title to Supreme Badass Plan Guy.

So he’s strolling, and thinking, and being his charmingly handsome self when a fucking _fireball_ hits him in the _goddamn eye._

“AHH!” Sokka screams. “A FUCKING FIREBALL JUST HIT ME IN THE GODDAMN EYE!”

“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK,” shouts a guard nearby, and then gets a fireball to the back of the head. He lands face first into the begonias. Sokka’s already reaching for his boomerang.

But then.

Sokka hears it.

A toddler choking.

_Or._

A delighted baby dragon.

“URSA?!” Sokka howls in betrayal, which is unfortunately close to his fake betrayal voice he uses when playing with her. She scurries out of the begonias and up to his feet, twining between his legs.

“KYA!” she says, flicking her tail around, and grins up at him proudly. She has so many teeth in her tiny baby mouth. So many very, very sharp teeth, all very, very close to his body.

Sokka’s got a palm firmly planted against his eye socket to make sure his eye doesn’t melt out or something. It fucking _hurts,_ like, _a lot._

“That _hurt,_ ” he says sternly down at her, eyes streaming. “Like, a lot! Ow! Ow! Not nice!”

“Kyaaa,” she says, and flops onto her back, clawed paws curled adorably under chin as she blinks innocent gold eyes.

“No! No pets for bad dragons!”

By now a small company of guards has trotted over to him, weapons at the ready.

“SIR WHERE ARE THE INTRUDERS SIR,” the one in front… asks?

“Gone. Ursa ate them,” he sighs, gesturing to where she’s wiggling on her back, belly suspiciously round.

The guards stare down at Ursa, and then as one man, take a few large steps back.

“SIR YES SIR VERY GOOD SIR,” the one in front says. “WILL SIR BE NEEDING ANYTHING ELSE SIR.”

“Fucking-- yeah, sorry, I mean,” his eye _hurts,_ and the hand covering it is _goopy_. But he can’t get in trouble for language right now, “can you send a message to my sist-- I mean, Katara of the travelling Air Benders?”

“WHAT SHOULD THE MESSAGE SAY SIR.”

“Have it say ‘if you don’t want me and Zuko to match-- oh wait, they censor shit, uhhh-- if you don’t want me and _flameo_ to match I need you to come give me a new eye. Preferably a cool one, like with a red iris or like, sparky sparky boom-man’s powers or something. Fucking _ow,_ Ursa.’”

The guard in front is beyond judgemental, first at Sokka referring to the Fire Lord by his first name and in such a frivolous manner, and then at the _rest of it._ The guard behind him mouths, _flameo,_ incredulously. “SIR YES SIR, MESSAGE TO KATARA OF THE AIR NOMADS READING IF YOU DONT WANT ME AND FLAMEO TO MATCH I NEED YOU TO COME GIVE ME A NEW EYE, PREFERABLY A COOL ON-”

“Okay you got it thanks,” Sokka says hurriedly. Ursa used her very comfortable and not at all blade-like talons to climb onto his shoulder during the exchange, and is now breathing heavily against his ear in a rhythmic manner that could be called laughter.

The guard drops his salute, just so that he can do another salute, and then yells, “ABOUT FACE.”

And they march away.

“I should have asked them to carry me to Zuko’s rooms, huh,” he whines at Ursa as soon as they’re out of earshot. She lets out a little _kya_ that comes with a matching flame. Sokka slaps at the side of his head until his hair is no longer on fire, and then heads off, lecturing all the way.

“Hey! I heard Zuko tell you that was only funny the _one time_ , missie! No multi-use pranks in this family. We invent new ones like _professionals._ ”

***

“Why didn’t you see the healer?!” Zuko asks. He’s trying to pry Sokka’s hand away from his eye, and he’s breathing hard, pale and shaking.

“And have Katara bitch the whole time about their inferior skill?” Sokka answers, taking Zuko’s hand in his and bringing it to his lips.

“We don’t even know how far away she is!” Zuko says, and squeezes Sokka’s hand so hard the bones grind together.

Sokka shrugs, dislodging Ursa in the process. Instead of falling in a heap like she deserves she glides over to her perch by the bed.

“Ursa!” Zuko says, eyes setting on her. He turns very red, and seemingly bites his tongue. When he speaks again, his teeth are a little bit red too. Oh no. Sokka may have— miscalculated. Coming here with an eye injured by fire. Them matching was a funnier joke when Zuko wasn’t having a panic attack. “WE WILL HAVE WORDS LATER, YOUNG LADY.”

Ursa ducks her head, shoulders hunching up. She lets out a pathetic mewl and a soft wisp of apologetic smoke. It’s _horrible._ Sokka’s never heard Zuko take that tone with her.

“Watch, I can totally open it,” Sokka says, demonstrating. There’s a weird high pitched shriek as he does, and it only takes him a moment to realize that it’s him making the noise. He can’t see _shit_ out of it.

“Agni, stop that!” Zuko snaps worriedly, guiding Sokka’s wrist back up to cover the socket. “What’s wrong with you!”

“OWWWW,” Sokka says. And then, “MY EYE, YOU INSENSITIVE DICK. THAT’S WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME.”

Zuko’s getting angrier, if the temperature spike in the room is anything to go by. Usually Sokka can tease or joke his way into bullying Zuko out of most of his snits, but again, he probably… miscalculated.

“Hey,” he tries, reevaluating and creating a new strategy. His voice is soft and he approaches Zuko where he’d stormed towards Ursa threateningly, gently taking his hand again. “Hey, I’m fine, I’m totally ok.”

“You,” Zuko says, pointing at Ursa. “You have disappointed Mommy—”

“Mommy,” Sokka mouths incredulously,

“— _Very much._ This type of behavior is _unacceptable_ for a lady of your age, and your breeding, and your stat—”

“Woah!” Sokka interrupts, and Zuko’s fingers are trembling in his, “give her a break! She was just playing, if you’re mad at anyone it should be--”

“I AM FURIOUS WITH YOU,” Zuko roars at Sokka, in an entirely different tone.

“Aaaah, just kidding, blame the dragon,” Sokka says.

Zuko turns back to Ursa, and crosses his arms. His voice is stern. “You will apologize to your— to your Sokka. Immediately. And if I hear about this behavior again, I _will_ be grounding you.”

Sokka blinks at her where she’s playing dead on her perch, wings and tail drooping sadly. “Yeah, you do that. Apologize with your real human words and people brain, Ursa.”

She blinks owlishly at him, not comprehending.

Something in Zuko’s face softens, and he reaches out with a hand, leaves it close enough she can choose to nuzzle it or not. After a moment of hesitation, she rubs against it, and mewls.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Zuko says, and scratches under her chin. “I know you’re too upset for that right now. But you have to be careful, okay? Sokka is very fragile, and we have to be careful with him. I don’t send fire at him when he’s not expecting it, and this is why. You _will_ be writing him a letter, though.”

“A letter,” Sokka mouths. He _really_ needs to unpack this with Katara.

“Yes, I told you, she’s very smart for her age,” Zuko says, and presses a kiss to the— and Sokka cannot stress this enough— _**dragon’s**_ scaly brow. “She already knows more words than I did.”

“No wonder Azula bullied you,” Sokka says, and ducks Zuko’s swat.

“Go sit down and wait for your sister,” Zuko says, and starts prodding at Sokka’s back. He bullies him into the most uncomfortable chair in the room.

“Hey! I’m an invalid!” Sokka complains.

“I was captaining a _warship_ a week after burning both my eye _and ear_ ,” Zuko says, “But if you can’t sit up, you’re too injured to wait for Katara. I’ll go fetch the palace healer _right away._ ”

“Ursa!” Sokka calls, “Attack! Stop him!”

Ursa chuckles, full on human _chuckles_ in a smoky voice _,_ and Sokka points at her. “You just heard that. Right? You heard her do that? With her reptile mouth full of crazy teeth?”

Ursa shows him her teeth in a grin.

“Maybe I do need a healer,” Sokka says.

***

Katara bullies him worse than the palace healer would have.

“I don’t baby you,” she corrects.

“YOU’RE KILLING ME,” Sokka says.

“She’s not even touching you,” Zuko says.

“THIS DRAGON IS AMAZING,” Aang yells, zipping past the window on his glider, Ursa nipping at his heels.

There’s the familiar hiss as she passes and Zuko rushes to stick his head out the window and snap, “Ursa! Bad!”

“AAH, MY GLIDER!” Aang yells from the distance, and then, “OH WAIT I CAN FIREBEND TOO, WATCH THIS!”

“I’m not even _touching you,_ ” Katara says, and then shoves her fingers straight into Sokka’s eyeball.

“AHHHHHHH,” Sokka yells.

“AHHHHHHHH,” Aang screams, zooming past the window on a smoking glider.

“YOUNG LADY YOU COME TO YOUR ROOM THIS INSTANT,” Zuko screeches.

“Hold still!” Katara snaps. “I need to pull your eye out!”

“I knew it,” Sokka moans as Katara laughs directly in his face.

***

There isn’t even that much scarring, in the end. There’s no permanent issues. What there is—

“This is a letter,” Sokka says flatly. What with the attempted siblicide, he’d never gotten around to asking Katara for that unpacking session.

“It is,” Zuko says, glowing with maternal pride. Ursa sits in his arms, head tucked into the hollow of his neck, resting against the curve of his waist and hip.

“This is a… letter… with a drawing,” Sokka says.

“She worked _very_ hard on it,” Zuko says. There are crayons laid out suspiciously on the tea table. Some are half eaten, and others are melted together. Sokka’s fairly sure that Ursa actually did work hard on those.

“It’s...nice…” Sokka says.

Zuko goes to answer and Ursa lets out an _eep_ of smoke directly into his mouth. He doesn’t seem to mind. “That’s us,” he says, nodding his chin at the drawing.

“Uh _huh,_ ” Sokka says. The drawing is… childish, for sure. Two stick figures, holding hands with a little girl. Zuko in his robes with his long hair looking more like a black haired woman in a red dress. Sokka in his blue shirt and pants, wolftail scribbled behind him. The little girl is wearing a red dress like Zuko’s, but her black hair is tied up with a blue ribbon.

It’s not like he can look his adult, ruler-of-a-nation partner in the eye and say _I know you pretended to draw and write for a dragon in some misguided attempt at playing family and I love you and accept you but we should probably talk about this? With Katara, because she knows all of the words that I don’t? Are you ok?_

Yeah. Not gonna happen.

“Do you accept her apology?” Zuko asks.

Sokka fixes an attempt at a smile onto his face, and nods woodenly. “Uh _huh._ ”

Ursa makes a sound of discontent in Zuko’s arms, as if unhappy with the verdict, and Zuko glares at Sokka, so he— feeling completely insane, by the way— doubles down. “No! I do. I love it. I love this.. this _letter_.. that was… made for me…”

He is burning it. He is burning it as soon as he is out of here, and he never has to think about this moment again.

Ursa whines, and tries to hide her head in Zuko’s robes. Zuko shakes his head at Sokka, frowning deeply. “Sokka.”

“This is the best letter,” Sokka says, and edges for the door. “I’m going to go— put it in a place of honor. Right now.”

Zuko hefts Ursa closer, that slow shake of his head inspiring a deep shame inside of Sokka as Ursa whines, and Sokka—

Gets the hell out of there, what the fuck.

***

There’s the familiar hiss that comes before the chaos, a tiny comet soaring over Sokka’s head and into the lap of one Ambassador Himura of the Southeast Sector of the Earth Kingdom. Himura bursts up, crotch aflame, and the room descends into chaos. Ty Lee helpfully dumps her liquour on him to douse it. It does not work, and the chaos grows.

Sokka turns to look behind him, where Ursa is sitting primly, awaiting his approval.

“Now _that,”_ Sokka says, and crosses the room to her, scooping her up and hurrying out before Zuko can spot them. “Is what I call an _apology_.”

**Author's Note:**

> find ang3lba3 on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cryingiscooltm)
> 
> We've started an 18+ Zukka Chaos discord! Click here [here](https://discord.gg/9qbzhcb) to join.


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